Family Portrait
by Knut Case
Summary: Songfic for Pink's 'Family Portrait'. Azula finds herself staring at an old Family Portrait.


**Dunno how I thought of this.  
I don't own Avatar, and I don't own Pink's 'Family Portrait'**

Azula wandered the palace halls. She hadn't been back there in a long time, kept in a cell in the boiling rock, then transferred somewhere to help her clear her head. She liked it there, at the white place. The nurses were friendly; they talked to her, and listened to her problems. She had always been a daddy's girl, but the loss of her mother had led to a tiny crack in her strong character. Although she had been labeled as 'cured', it didn't stop the never-ending flow of memories that had washed over her since her admission.

_Mama please stop cryin'  
I can't stand the sound  
Your pain is painful  
And it's tearin' me down_

I hear glasses breakin'  
As I sit up in my bed  
I told Dad you didn't mean  
Those nasty things you said

The halls were quiet, and she had managed to lose her guard (it was necessary in case she reverted to her old ways. This comment often made her roll her amber eyes). On her way up to the stairs where Zuko's room was, she spotted a portrait of her, and Zuko, their mother and their father.

_  
You fight about money  
'Bout me and my brother  
And this I come home to  
This is my shelter_

It ain't easy, growin' up in World War III  
Never knowin' what love could be  
You'll see, I don't want love to destroy me  
Like it has done my family

Can we work it out?  
(Can we?)  
Can we be a family?  
(Can we?)  
I promise I'll be better  
(I promise)  
Mommy, I'll do anything  
(I'll do anything)

She was very young, maybe eight or nine, and a mischevious glint in her eyes made her wonder why her father had favored her over Zuko, who had donned a shy, but very royal expression, raising his chin ever so slightly.

Can we work it out?  
Can we be a family?  
I promise I'll be better  
Daddy, please don't leave

Daddy please stop yelling  
(Stop)  
I can't stand the sound  
(Can't stand the sound)  
Make Mama stop cryin'  
'Cause I need you around

My mama, she loves you  
(I know it)  
No matter what she says is true  
I know that she hurts you  
But remember I love you too

The memories were coming faster, but her expression remained blank. She was an expert at concealing her emotions, ever since it was apparent that their mother had favored Zuko. Ursa was a beautiful woman. In fact, Azula had found herself trying to remember what she looked like for a long time, and now she was remembering. She had not seen her family in a long time. Only Ty Lee ever came to visit her. 

I ran away today  
Ran from the noise, ran away  
(Ran away)  
Don't wanna go back to that place  
But don't have no choice, no way

It ain't easy growin' up in World War III  
Never knowin' what love could be  
That I've seen, I don't want love to destroy me  
(I don't want love to destroy me)  
Like it did my family

Can we work it out?  
(Can we work it?)  
Can we be a family?  
I promise I'll be better  
(I promise I'll do anything)  
Mommy, I'll do anything  
(To keep you better)

What had happened in all those years since the war? Did Mai marry her brother? What had happened to him? Did the scar she had given him cause him any pain? Guilt stabbed at her stomach, and she hoped not.

Can we work it out?  
Can we be a family?  
I promise I'll be better  
(I promise, I promise)  
Daddy, please don't leave  
(Stay)

In our family portrait  
(In our family portrait)  
We look pretty happy  
(We look pretty happy)  
Let's play pretend  
(Let's play pretend)  
Let's act like it comes naturally  
(That's right)  
(That's right)

Her father had his usual, blank-but-still-stern expression on his handsome face. She knew now just how wrong he had been to try and change the world. Her Uncle Iroh had also visited her once or twice, and she was enlightened by his tales of what had happened during her fathers tyrannical reign. Still, he was still her father, and she would have liked to go visit him herself for the first time in eight years. 

I don't wanna have to split the holidays  
(No, no)  
I don't want two addresses  
(No)  
I don't want a stepbrother anyways  
And I don't want my Mommy  
Have to change her last name!

She remembered the night her mother had left. Zuko had shown open displays of his emotion, the grief he felt. And yet, she had _teased_ him about it. How cruel of her, considering she had then gone to her room and cried herself to sleep. The portrait seemed to show another family that didn't have the same problems that her family had had. 

In our family portrait  
We look pretty happy  
We look pretty normal  
Let's go back to that

In our family portrait  
We look pretty happy  
Let's play pretend  
Act like it goes naturally

In our family portrait  
(Can we work it out?)  
We look pretty happy  
(Can we be a family?)  
We look pretty normal  
(I promise I'll be better)  
Let's go back to that  
(Mommy I'll do anything)

She pictured their true portrait, and saw a broken man, supported by a sad woman in ragged clothes, with a strong, scarred Zuko and herself in a white straightjacket. So why had someone painted this…this lie?

In our family portrait  
(Can we work it out?)  
We look pretty happy  
(Can we be a family?)  
Let's play pretend  
(I promise I'll be better)  
Act like it goes naturally  
(Daddy please don't leave)  
Oh let's go back oh lets go back to that

In our family portrait  
We look pretty happy  
We look pretty normal  
Lets go back to that

In our family portrait  
We look pretty happy  
We look pretty normal  
Let's go back to that

In fact, why had Zuko even kept this on the wall? To remind him of his childhood days? Hardly. To remind him of his lost mother? There were plenty of portraits of Ursa. And why would he want to remember his father…or her?

_  
Daddy don't leave  
Daddy don't leave  
Daddy don't leave  
Daddy don't leave  
Daddy turn around please_

Remember that the night you left  
You took my shining star  
Daddy don't leave  
Daddy don't leave  
Daddy don't leave  
Don't leave us here alone

Azula could hear someone coming down the red carpeted stairs, but was too focused on the tears that ran down her face. Crying was such an unfamiliar thing to her. She had toughened up after Ursa vanished.

Mama'll be nicer  
I'll be so much better  
I'll tell my brother  
I won't spill the milk at dinner

I'll be so much better  
I'll do everything right  
I'll be your little girl forever  
I'll go to sleep at night

"…A-Azula?" asked Zuko, stunned. She looked up with a quiet sob, and saw him. He wore the Fire Lord's crown, and beside him was a young girl with light brown hair, pale skin and amber eyes. She looked a lot like a younger Azula, actually. Zuko cautiously approached her, warning the child back. She wasn't scared, just watched curiously. Azula threw her arms around her brothers neck, and sobbed into his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Zuko, for everything"

_In our family portrait  
__We looked pretty happy  
__We looked pretty normal  
__Can we please go back to that?_

_In our family portrait  
__We looked pretty happy  
__We looked pretty normal  
__But we can't go back to that…_

Zuko hesitated, but gently hugged her back. She started with surprise, expecting him to push her away like she had a disease.

"Yeah…me too" he murmured.

_In our family portrait  
__We looked pretty happy…_


End file.
